A BACHELOR'S IN CONVOY!!

Happy Convoy Day! It has now been FOUR YEARS since we began our exhaustive Convoy study.
This year we tried to mostly go to different places than we did the first time...

This year we made T-shirts! 

The helmets were once again a big hit.
Lots of people honked and waved as we walked down the street.
It was interesting how we felt less and less embarrassed by them as the day went on...

We started the day with dim sum, joined by members of Convoy Recon:
Django, Andi, and Beston (not pictured).

 

Breakfast dessert at The Fruit Shop!

Mangosteens!  It's like they knew it was Convoy Day!

Midmorning tea and books at Big Joy Family Bakery.
(This was planned as introvert reading time,
but Katie showed up and we ended up just talking after all).

Miko was really worried that we wouldn't have enough books to read.

Pre-lunch beers at O'Brien's Pub.

With guest and fierce Convoy Day veteran, Katie!

A rainbow of beer!  I think the red one had hibiscus in it, or something.

Lunch at Crab Hut!  With guests Howie, Laura, Jessica and Katie.

The Viking spirit is strong.

Lunch dessert at Angels & Hearts! (That's Jessica with Katie.)

We didn't go here, but we like the idea of a cheery massage!

Finally trying the mysterious Korean spa!

Utterly relaxed after having many layers of skin rubbed off.

Dinner at Yokohama Yakitori Kobou (with the usual shot of milk).

Sarah H. brought Miko a birthday present! 
She has an excellent present-receiving face.

Ume panch!!

With guests Chelsie, Hildie, Cam, Nick, Katie, Santiago, Sarah H, Sarah P, Sarah M, Alli, Beston, and Andi.

Dessert (and looking epic) at Blush.

No new guests here!

Oh, Santiago.

With Howie, Summer, Emily, John, Erica, and a bunch of people from before!

In which we join forces with allied combatants!

Once again, Dede's was the site of our meeting with strangers from the internet...but this time it was with the mirror-universe versions of OUR VERY SELVES.  

You guys. There is another military-named Convoy food blog, called Convoy Recon! It is also run by two friends who love food, but they are gentlemen instead of ladies, and they are not librarians.  They are however completely charming and cool and have the nicest friends ever. And live in my neighborhood! They've gotten about halfway through the recon(quest) and were kind enough to invite us to join them in their visit to Dede's.

I'll let their writeup speak for the food experience (hooray, they liked both dishes we recommended, even though the cumin lamb is usually better than it was that day) but it was a lovely meal both food and conversation-wise.  We'd reconquer with them any time!

Some of the carnage.

Convoy Conquest Awards Season! - East Side

We are now done with Convoy's East Side!

THE BEST OF THE EAST: DUMPLING INN

Why?  It is kind of hilarious that after this whole journey and all this work, our long-time favorite still ranks first.  But now we feel extra-justified in loving it best!  Dumpling Inn was the first place we ever had xiaolongbao, and we have imprinted on them.  We've had beloved, reputable xiaolongbao in other cities, but they never tasted as good as our Dumpling Inn's.  We love that they've kept it small, because they could choose to expand in a bigger location on Convoy if they wanted to.  Yes, they have their off days, but that is because they actually cook their dishes from scratch.  It doesn't exactly have x-factor, but it gives us a happy-tummy feeling after the meal.  Even people who don't like vegetables (cough, Miko, Nick) like the crack greens!

Nominees: Chon Ju Jip, Pangea Bakery Cafe

Best Chinese: Dumpling Inn

Why?  For all the reasons above.
Nominees: Dede's Chinese Cuisine, Liang's Kitchen

Best Japanese: FAIL.

Why?  Chopstix, Katzra, Nozomi, Sushi, Roll Depot, Tajima, iSushi...  They are all terrible.
Nominees: Walmido?  But they were just okay, and they closed.

Best Korean: Chon Ju Jip

Why? Has a nice, homey feeling, and the restaurant feels like it's being itself without stepping down to a common denominator.  The ddukbokki and seafood pancake are the best versions we've had on Convoy.
Nominees: Dduri Ba, Josun, MARU

Best Thai: Thai House
Why?  We like them, and there are no other nominees.

Best Dessert: Pangea Bakery Cafe (Jenne) and Fruit Shop (Miko)

Why?  Pangea has yummy breads (like the raspberry bun!) and they're open late.  It's a good place to bring a bunch of friends and talk after a meal.  The Fruit Shop introduced Miko to mangosteens, and they have really interesting varieties of fruit that are not often found elsewhere.  And they happily press samples on you!
Nominees: Pho Convoy Noodle House (just for their tricolor bean dessert)

Best Date: MARU Lounge
Why?  It's more sophisticated than the other restaurants, but it doesn't feel so try-hardy like Rakiraki.  It's cozy and not loud, and they're open late with alcohol options.
Nominees: Josun

Best Service: Cali Baguette Express

Why?  Mitchell Nishimura, who works at the Kearny Mesa Cali Baguette location, is a wonderful human being -- kind, considerate, with meticulous attention to detail.

Nominees: iSushi and Sushi, Roll Depot (terrible food, excellent servers), Fruit Shop

Best X-Factor: Friend's House

Why?  So many cute knick-knacks and cozy nooks!
Nominees: Cali Baguette Express, Chon Ju Jip, Thai House, Convoy Tofu House

Best for Kids: Cali Baguette Express

Why?  They have lots of fun snacks (like Hi-Chew, which is delish), and it's cheap!  Plus, Mitchell Nishimura is good with kids.
Nominees: Liang's Kitchen, Pangea Bakery Cafe

EAST SIDE'S WORST: EMERALD CHINESE SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

Why?  It was dirty.  The teapot was gross, and there was a BUG crawling around in the cart of dim sum!!

Nominees: Mapo BBQ Korean Cuisine, Nozomi, Sushi, Roll Depot, Tajima

HAPPY CONVOY DAY!!

The greatest day of all!

On October 3, 2010, we had our first official meal. 2 years, 10 months, 21 days, and 79 restaurants later, we celebrate the completion of our most noble quest. And what better way to honor our accomplishments than to spend a whole day on Convoy Street?

Miko provided the necessary uniform.

About to begin!  We parked in the middle of Convoy and walked everywhere we went. 
We logged over seven miles!

First stop: breakfast at Cali Baguette Express!

Here's Katie, our guest judge.  She makes lots of amusing faces.

We didn't want to get too full so we started out slow and shared a banh mi. Cajun shrimp with egg.

Me, devouring.

And a sesame ball, because I love them.
(Katie and Miko are not fans of these -- they taste a little banana-ey.) 

Next stop: breakfast dessert at Pangea Bakery!

Taro bun and coffee.  Part of your complete breakfast!

We had to take a photo in the FOTO (Fresh Out of The Oven) area!

Second breakfast: Jasmine Express!

Shrimp har gow and beef rice roll. 
The beef roll was even better than the shrimp one that we loved last time.

Look at this adooorable picture of Miko!

We found this EGGS box very entertaining.

Third breakfast/midmorning snack at Paris Baguette.  We were just here to kill time before meeting our lunch pals, but we saw this sandwich and HAD TO have it.  Sadly it wasn't quite as good as it looked.

The saddest face ever.

Lunch at Dumpling Inn!  We were each allowed to bring one guest.

My guest: Sarah!  Sarah was a guest judge at our very first conquest, so obviously she had to be here.

Miko's guest, Sarah P!  This is Sarah's first time as a guest judge, but she got right into the swing of things.

Ahhh.  What else is there to say.

We don't always get this dish (fish with black beans and asparagus) but I really love it.

Crack greens!! Look how shiny and delicious.

I'm so sad that I don't have this right now.

Katie making another enjoyable face.

Not quite sure why I took this, but it's such a typical Convoy scene that I thought I'd post it.

Lunch dessert at Sage Cake!
We really wanted to take a picture of the handsome baker but we couldn't possibly.

Caaaake!!

Pre-dinner drinks at O'Brien's!

Beeeeer!!

Pre-dinner foot massages at Lotus Spa!

Dinner at Sakura!  Our dinner guests were Howie and Laura, but we forgot to take pictures of them.

Miko's (and Howie's) favorite uni pasta (that I don't really like).

Everyone's favorite agedashi mochi!

Albacore tataki.

Another adoooorable photo of Miko!  She is just at her best when holding food.

I think this is still my favorite chicken karaage on Convoy.

Nikomi hamburg.

Tebashio.

Black sesame ice cream.

Done!  Time for karaoke!!

And the complete list:

Cali Baguette Express: $8.75
Green tea with boba
Iced Vietnamese coffee
Sesame balls
Cajun shrimp sandwich with egg

Pangea Bakery: $5.72
1 royal taro bun
1 caffe late

Jasmine Express
Shrimp har gow
Beef rice roll

Zion Market Paris Baguette Bakery: $9.95
2 iced black teas
California Roll Sandwich

Fruit Shop: $32
3 coconut waters
2 bags of mangosteens

Dumpling Inn: $51.05
3 orders of xiaolongbao
Chinese greens
Seabass with black bean sauce

Sage Cake: $24.57
2 fruit tarts
1 caramel mousse
4 iced teas

O'Brien's: $15
2 beers
1 glass of Chardonnay

Izakaya Sakura: $71.28
Uni pasta
Agedashi mochi
Salmon onigiri
Chicken karaage
Albacore tataki
Nikomi hamburg
Tebashio
Black sesame ice cream
Green tea

WHAT'S NEXT?
We have to catch up on the restaurants that have popped up after we had conquered the plaza already. Starting with the new year, we begin conquering the new Convoy!